But Let’s Be Honest Here

Over the past couple of days, I’ve been listing a few reasons conservatives should take some limited encouragement from the outcome of the stadium vote.  The “Tea Party” freshman class largely did the job they were sent to Saint Paul to do.

But there’s an (heh heh) elephant in the room.  Every Republican in MInnesota knows it.

While Republicans coming off of epic Tea Party-driven victories elsewhere in the country are fighting the battles that come from being ahead of the bad guys – Walker apparently beating back the recall, Republicans in Indiana,  dispensing with the past-his-shelf-date Dick Lugar and the ones in Utah perhaps on the edge of doing the same with Hatch, thinking about taking the House and the Senate, making some serious headway against the Democrat/Union machine in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania – the sorts of things you can do when you’re focused on expanding on the gains like we got in 2010.

But here in Minnesota?

I remember in the early days of this blog describing Minnesota Republicans as “battered spouses” – people who are used to being dominated, controlled and abused, but think if they just give a little moreˆ, work a little harder to be a better partner, maybe it’ll all be OK.

I, like all Minnesota conservatives, had hoped that that had changed.  But this session was a trip back to the future.

I’m not going to say that the  GOP leadership  in the House and Senate spent tthe session pining for the approval of Lori  Sturdevant, or blithely hoping that iif they just gave enough, the DFL would come along and act like responsiblee adults,, or believing that acting in good faith with the Governor Dayton would cause him to act as anything but an office temp for Alita  Messinnger and Elliot Seid…

…but if I try to answer the question “if they were doing all of that, how would  they have acted any differently?”, I don’t have much of an answer.

The DFL is calling the past session a “Do-nothing” legislature.  And it’s a sad fact that the  best we can say about it is that it really wasn’t; as I noted yesterday, they weren’t.

But they dropped the ball on “Right to Work” and “LIFO” – as if giving in to the unions’ threats would keep the unions from working tirelessly against them?

And they bobbled the tax bill, letting the governor veto it twice while caving in on the stadium, giving the Governor a trifecta of cheap victories almost, it seems to the outside viewer, without having to break a sweat.

I’ve heard a few conservatives – angry business people – say they may not support the GOP this cycle, hoping to “teach the party a lesson”.  I think that’s a huge mistake – this state can not deal with two years of absolute DFL hegemony.   And I think most businesspeople know that.

But I think the takeaways from this past few weeks are::

  1. The Tea Party class of freshmen – obstreporous and savvy, with no real desire to win the Lori Sturdevant/Keri Miller “Good Bipartisan Schnook” seal of approval – are what we need more of.  They are genuine conservatives, and provide a genuine alternative to the DFL.  Collegiality with the DFL comes in well behind doing what they were sent to Saint Paul to do.
  2. The leadership has to change.  If it doesn’t, there is no reason to give the GOP any credibility as conservatives if they can’t work like they have a majority – which, after this session, we will have to work like hell to  hold.

Just as the MNGOP administrative operation needs to overhaul its financial opperation, the GOP caucus in both chambers needs to change its approach, and act like a majority caucus.

5 thoughts on “But Let’s Be Honest Here

  1. Mitch, you and I go way back as “blog buddies, ” and believe me when I say that what follows is said with all 9due respect.

    But I’m really curious as to what you, or any other conservative, see in Scott Walker.

    I live in Wisconsin. The man claimed he’d create 250,000 jobs during his first term; even if you use his own numbers, he’s created 23,000 (those highly questionable numbers come from his own Dept. of Revenue–the Feds, and most other sources, have us in a pretty deep jobs hole since he became governor).

    Then there’s “Divide and Conquer”–I assume you’re familiar with the video. Why would any mature adult find this inspiring? Why should any governor be held in high esteem when he’s openly contemptuous of so many of his constituents?

    And finally, there’s the question that not a single fellow conservative has answered to my satisfaction: Why should Wisconsinites feel good about a governor who spends most of his time out of state, being lavished with funds by out-of-state interests? Why, exactly, do these people care who is governor of Wisconsin–and more importantly, what do they want from Scott Walker in return?

    I am deeply disappointed. I did not think I would have to explain to so many people that Scott Walker is a bad package. If he is the future of conservatism, it looks way too much like fascism to me. I want out.

  2. “The man claimed he’d create 250,000 jobs during his first term”
    Sounds like a stump speech and a great goal even if the Governor doesn’t actually creat jobs. The Governor can only, with the help of the Legislature, create an environment for job creation.

    “…he’s openly contemptuous…”
    Project much?

    “…not a single fellow conservative has answered…”
    Have you asked your fellow “moderate” Deegee?

    “I am deeply disappointed.”
    Without specific details, I am going to consider you a hypochondriac.

    “I did not think I would have to explain”
    And you haven’t.

    If you really want to see Liberal Fascism, look to the government owning GM, not to mention Solyndra… not to mention the taxpayer largess going to fund massive public worker posh retirements…

    ” I want out.”
    Then move to California like a good Lib.

  3. When you’re lined up singing praises to the Great Leader, I hope you’ll remember this day.

    And you will be. If you don’t get off the train right now.

  4. Also, K-Rod (love that moniker)–do a little historical research on the Weimar Republic and Hitler’s ascension to power.

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